Chicory Yankee Style BBQ Bite
Forget the ham and cheese!
We’re not giving you some soft boiled Belgian Endive (chicory) in a stale bechamel sauce, with some sad ham and cheese. Us grillmasters have higher standards than that and will turn this bitter veg into a tasty BBQ bite. Can you guess how? Look at the picture… Yup. Just add bacon! And BBQ rub, and BBQ sauce since we’re going USA style. Trust me folks, chicory has never tasted so good!
The ingredients:
(serves 4)
- 8 stumps Belgian Endive (chicory)
- 2⅔ oz (75g) cream cheese, room temperature
- 5⅓ oz (150g) Leerdammer cheese, grated
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 16 rashers of bacon
- 5 tbsp BBQ-spices, like Smokey’s Pig Powder
- 3⅓ fl oz (100ml) BBQ Sauce, like Smokey’s Finest
- 2 tbsp flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
Gear:
- BBQ with cover for indirect grilling
- Handful of wood chips for smoking, soaked in water
- Brush
How to make:
Duration: prep 30 minutes
Cooking about: 15 minutes
Prepare a BBQ for indirect grilling and heat to 180 °C (356 °F).
Remove the outer layer of leaves from the Belgian Endive and cut them in half lengthwise. Scoop out the inner layer of leaves. Whisk the cream cheese with the grated Leerdammer. Season with salt and pepper. Fill the gaps in the endive (chicory) with the cheese mixture and put them back together. Wrap two rashers of bacon around each chicory stump in a spiral and season with BBQ-spices.
Place the soaked wood chips amidst the hot coals and the chicory on the BBQ. Cover and smoke for about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat the BBQ sauce and use a brush to coat the chicory once they’ve been smoking for ten minutes. Cover for another 5 minutes to allow the sauce to caramelize. Sprinkle with parsley, and enjoy the fact you have a way to make chicory that your kids will want to eat.
